Bellott v. Mountjoy: Compulsory Summons to Shakespeare and others for the first set of Interrogatories

Shown here is a Compulsory Summons, dated May 7, 1612, following the last of four pleadings in Bellott v. Mountjoy. The lawsuit, begun on January 28, 1612, was between Stephen Bellott and Christopher Mountjoy, head of a French Huguenot family living in Silver Street in Cripplegate Ward, just north of Cheapside and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Members of the household included Christopher and Marie Mountjoy, their only child Mary, and Stephen Bellott, an apprentice in the family business, the fabrication of elaborate and fashionable headpieces called “tires.” The lawsuit concerns negotiations which led to the marriage of Stephen and Mary on November 19, 1604. Bellott complains that his father-in-law subsequently reneged on an agreement to support the young couple financially. On May 11, 1612, William Shakespeare deposed as a witness. Depositions in the case reveal that Shakespeare, then a lodger in the Mountjoy household, had been engaged to persuade Bellott to enter the marriage.

After the four pleadings (the Bill of Complaint, the Answer, the Rejoinder and the Replication) earlier in 1612, the first action of the Court of Requests in Bellott v. Mountjoy was to summon witnesses. The Compulsory Summons shown here identifies the only named witness as William Shakespeare, gentleman. The fact that the rest of the witnesses are referred to as “others” suggests that Shakespeare was, at least initially, the principal witness in the case.

Twenty-six documents survive from Bellott v. Mountjoy. This document is one of twelve of that refer to Shakespeare explicitly or implicitly (including one with his signature). The lawsuit is generally unremarkable and Shakespeare’s involvement is minor. However, the case does contribute to our understanding of Shakespeare's life: that in 1604 he was living in Silver Street with a family of French Huguenot tiremakers. In 1909 Charles William Wallace and his wife Hulda Berggren Wallace discovered Bellott v. Mountjoy in the Public Records Office, now The National Archives.